Rocky Fire in Northern California has burned 46,000 acres

Thousands of California acres are ablaze as firefighters battle at least 21 wildfires throughout the state, but while many of those fires are small or mostly contained, the wind and heat that are spreading the Rocky Fire in Northern California -- and the area's steep terrain -- are causing the most concern.

However, the clouds Sunday carried silver linings: cooler temperatures and increased humidity. Even with high winds in the area, those conditions should reduce the blaze's spread, though fire officials warned that the state's drought has been so severe, firefighters might need more than cooler temperatures to douse the blaze.

Since Saturday, the fire spread by almost 24,000 acres and has now consumed 46,000 acres in Lake, Yolo and Colusa counties, according to Daniel Berland, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

Fifty residences and outbuildings have been destroyed and authorities estimate more than 6,000 structures face a direct threat.

"The fire is expected to have significant activity and growth," Cal Fire said in its late Saturday advisory. "Current strategic constraints include lack of access to areas of the fire, very hot and dry weather, critical fuels and changing winds. ... In total, all evacuations impact over 12,100 citizens living in over 5,156 residences."

Cal Fire has posted a list of mandatory evacuations, advisories, evacuation centers and road closures on its website.

After four days battling the blaze just east of Lower Lake, a town of 1,300, it is only 5% contained. Almost 2,000 fire personnel, 180 engines, four air tankers and 19 helicopters are participating in the effort.

Still, some Lake County residents carried on as usual amid the precarious conditions.

"We can see the smoke and it appears to be blowing near us but there are no evacuations here that I know of. We are open for business and hoping the wind blows the other way because we have two tournaments tomorrow," Ted Mattila of Buckingham Golf and Country Club in Kelseyville said Saturday.

In all, about 9,000 firefighters worked 21 fires Saturday in California -- from the Frog Fire near the Oregon border, to the Cutca blaze near Mexico. The state's four-year drought has created ideal conditions for wildfires, Cal Fire said.

At least three large fires were contained Saturday, while two smaller fires merged into a larger one, the department said.

One fireman was killed in the line of duty. The U.S. Forest Service confirmed that David Ruhl of Rapid City, South Dakota, died fighting the Frog Fire in Northern California's Modoc National Forest, near Adin. Rescuers found his body Friday morning, the forest service said, adding that the death of the father of two remains under investigation.

In two other fires -- the Willow Fire northeast of North Fork in the Sierra National Forest and the Cabin Fire east of Porterville in the Sequoia National Forest -- authorities reported strides.

The Willow Fire is 60% contained, and firefighters made "good progress" with a controlled-burn operation intended to deprive the blaze of more fuel, the South Central Sierra Interagency Incident Management Team said.

"Air resources will support ground crew as needed (as) soon as smoke conditions clear and allow for safe aerial operations," the team said.

Evacuation orders remain in effect for the blaze that has already consumed more than 5,600 acres.

The Cabin Fire, which has burned 2,600 acres since mid-July, remained relatively calm overnight, but it was only 2% contained, according to a news release from the Sequoia National Forest.

"If the weather conditions are favorable today, firefighters may begin strategic firing operation near Pecks (Canyon) to remove unburned fuels between the fire line and the main fire in the afternoon," the statement said.

Neither the Willow nor the Cabin fires have destroyed any structures, but six people have been injured in the Willow Fire.

Thousands of lightning strikes since Thursday have ignited hundreds of small wildfires, but the thunderstorms brought little rain, authorities said, and the smaller fires became part of larger fires.

Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency Friday to help gather additional resources.

The fires range in size. The White Fire in Santa Barbara County is about 50 acres, the deadly Frog Fire has consumed at least 3,000 acres since it was spotted Thursday and the recently snuffed-out Lake Fire in San Bernandino County burned more than 31,000 acres before it was contained.

Cal Fire says most of the fires are more than 60% contained. However, the land damage has been substantial in some cases. Fires in Southern California's San Bernardino County and northern California's Alpine county have incinerated nearly 50,000 acres.

California's record-setting drought, entering its fourth year, has "turned much of the state into a tinderbox," Gov. Brown said.

Temperatures in Sacramento and other areas of northern California, where many of the fires are located, have topped 100 degrees recently.

The move was made to help offset a salary-cap crunch after the Seahawks reached long-term extensions with quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner, according to ESPN.

The Seahawks signed Wilson to a four-year extension worth $87.6 million on Friday and signed Wagner to a four-year extension worth $43 million on Sunday.

McDaniel, 30, was set to make $2.5 million in base salary this season and was scheduled to become a free agent in 2016.

McDaniel spent two seasons in Seattle, starting 29 of 32 games, collecting 83 tackles, two sacks, two passes defensed and one fumble recovery. In the postseason, he started five of six games, collecting 14 tackles, two passes defensed and one fumble recovery.

Originally signed by Jacksonville as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2006, McDaniel spent three seasons with the Jaguars before moving on to Miami and playing four seasons with the Dolphins (2009-12). In nine NFL seasons, he has played in 111 games with 34 starts, totaling 212 tackles, 10.5 sacks, nine passes defensed and two fumble recoveries.

The miners would end up spending 69 days below the Earth's surface before rescuers brought them all to safety. As everyone celebrated the rescue of the 33 miners, many pointed to a higher power -- a 34th miner -- who they say was with them all along.

In the aftermath of the rescue, those involved have recounted seemingly inexplicable miracles during their time underground and credited God with protecting them. God, many of them say, was the 34th miner.

A comforting presence

Jorge Galleguillos, a miner from Copiapo, Chile, recalled making the sign of the cross in front of an image of the Virgin Mary that had been placed near the entrance to the mine. The miners asked her for protection every shift before descending into the lower levels of the mine.

The day of the collapse, like any other day, Galleguillos paid his respects to the Virgin Mary and headed into the mine.

During this particular shift, Galleguillos said he heard warning cracks but continued working. He recalled seeing something like a "white species ... a butterfly" falling diagonally in the mine "like a paper."

It was likely a bit of white quartz, but in local culture, a white animal is a sign that God is present.

As the mine began to rumble and dust filled the air, Galleguillos said he envisioned his 6-day-old grandson in his arms and his mother standing in front of him.

"I am not going to see my mother again. I'm not going to meet my grandson," he thought.

Galleguillos said he is not particularly religious. Still, even as it seemed the worst was ahead, he said he felt God's presence.

In the five years since the mine collapse, Galleguillos said he is more thankful than ever.

Alex Vega, a second-generation miner, had been suffering from a gastric ulcer for a couple of months when the miners became trapped.

As always, he had his pills in his backpack. Three of them. He divided them into four parts each so he could take a piece each day.

The fact that there was very little food only made his symptoms worse, and at this point, they had no idea when or if they would be rescued.

The miners ate one can of tuna per day, splitting each can between the 33 of them.

"You have to have faith," Galleguillos said. "You can never lose your faith. Faith is nourishment ... Faith is life."

Faith, even without hope

Shift foreman Luis Urzua was the first person to be heard once verbal contact was made with the miners. His first words were, "We are well and hoping that you will rescue us."

Urzua said he doesn't believe in luck, but he does believe in faith -- even when it seems like there is no hope.

"The devil couldn't do anything because God was present," he said.

Urzua recounted a time in the mine when one of his colleagues became ill. The prayers of the other miners, Urzua said, healed him.

"We made a prayer, we prayed in front of him," he said. "The next day, he was better. ... He was doing better than all of us."

That power of prayer stayed with the miners throughout their time underground.

"When we prayed, we didn't pray to get rescued; we prayed for the people outside not to abandon us," he said.

It was another answered prayer.

Rescue resumes inexplicably

After weeks of drilling, the rescuers were getting closer to the miners. Then, the drill halted, just feet from reaching the miners. There was no forward or backward motion.

"It's like, did we come this far and go through all this? And this damn thing is stuck here," said Richard Soppe, a manager with Center Rock Inc.

Then, without any effort from the rescuers, there was a pop, and it started moving again.

Brandon Fisher, owner of Center Rock, led a team of drilling experts to help free the miners.

"I remember there was a loud bang on the backside of the control panel," Fisher said. "Everyone just kind of stopped at one point in time and looked around."

"We still don't know what that noise was," he said.

Ariel Ticona, a miner and expectant father at the time, said that when he heard the drill bit break through, he knew "that was by the hand of God that the miracle was done."

While trapped, Ticona became a father to a baby girl, Esperanza, which means hope.

Jonathan Franklin, author of "33 Men: Inside the Miraculous Survival and Dramatic Rescue of the Chilean Miners," said Esperanza's birth was a miracle because she gave hope to the miners. She gave their dream of rescue a face.

Rescuing the miners

After much preparation and prayer, the final leg of the rescue began.

Florencio Avalos was the first miner to emerge. He was pulled to the surface in a 22-inch wide capsule.

Celebrations broke out, but the rescuers and miners faced the reality that 32 more miners needed the same miracle to live.

One after the other, they were rescued.

Vega said he hugged and kissed his wife like he was never going to let her go.

Ticona met his new daughter Esperanza in the hospital.

Urzua said God saved all 33 miners for a reason, but he's been asking himself why since the rescue.

"Today, everywhere we turn, there is misery, hunger, terrible natural events," Urzua said, speculating about God's motive to rescue them. "We have to care for our environment, care for our children, so that they have a better life, we give them the best."

After the rescuers returned home, they studied the science of the rescue.

"These tools should not have been able to bend and go around some of these curves. I mean, there's no question in my mind that the faith of God, and the faith of the world praying for these guys to get rescued was a huge factor," Fisher said. "Science, know-how, and will were applied, but at the end of the day, the big guy had everything to do with this rescue being successful. I believe that wholeheartedly."